Steelers sign son of Mel Blount among 6 new free agent additions

It appears the Pittsburgh Steelers re-signing of Anthony Chickillo was not the only contract news of the day on Tuesday, as the team also announced it had come to terms with six additions as futures signings for the upcoming season. Among the new names are two players with Hall of Fame connections, one of whom made his name with the Steel Curtain defense of the 70’s.

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For Steeler fans, the most obvious name to note will be that of Akil Blount, son of former Pittsburgh Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount and a player we highlighted in the run up to the draft last year. After going undrafted in 2016, the young linebacker signed with the Miami Dolphins but was released before the season began and failed to catch on to a practice squad.

Also joining roster is offensive lineman Mike Matthews, son of Hall of Famer Bruce Mathews and another player with great bloodlines who went undrafted last season. Matthews spent time in camp with the Cleveland Browns before missing out in the final round of cuts and like Blount, was not able to find a place on a practice squad despite a few tryouts throughout the year.

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Rounding out the group of futures signings are linebacker Jason Fanaika, offensive lineman Kyle Friend, cornerback Devonte Johnson and running back Trey Williams. Each of these players were also undrafted free agents, with all but Williams coming from the class of 2016. While they all found teams after the draft, only Friend and Fanaika stayed with a team beyond training camp, although neither made it past the practice squad. Williams has been in the league since 2015 and has already spent time with the Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts.

As futures signings, these new additions will have inked one-year contracts for the league minimum of $465,000. All will be long shots to make the roster, but the progress of a player like Alejandro Villanueva from futures signing to starter shows anything is possible.